Mourinho debuts at Real Madrid: no regrets over Rodri, defense with all eleven non-negotiable

Forty-one minutes. That's how long José Mourinho's first press conference as Real Madrid coach lasted in his second spell at the club, and the Portuguese didn't leave a single question unanswered. He didn't even dodge the most uncomfortable one: the signing that got away from the club this summer.

Rodri ended up joining another club, and many expected Mourinho to lament that absence in Madrid's midfield. He didn't, or at least not entirely. "Rodri would have been the cherry on top. But when you have Tchouaméni, Bernardo, Valverde, Bellingham, Camavinga, Arda... we don't have a problem," he explained, making clear he sees Madrid's midfield as one of the most complete in Europe, with room even for Arda Güler to end up occupying that area of the pitch further down the line.

The coach also went over how his return to the Madrid bench came together. According to him, everything picked up speed in the final stretch of last season, when the club got in touch with him while he was still in charge of Benfica. "Every year there's always a rumor and I didn't pay it much attention. By the time Madrid contacted me we were already in the final part of the season," he said, placing that first approach in the last two matches he coached with the Portuguese side.

The relationship between Tchouaméni and Valverde

One of the topics generating the most anticipation was the friction between Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni the previous season. Mourinho, who arrived with plenty of information thanks to his contacts within Madrid's inner circle, chose not to get directly involved in the locker room.

I've decided to start from scratch. I haven't needed to talk to Tchouaméni. I've seen normality. This isn't about peace, it's about normality, friendship, cooperation. It's as if nothing had happened.José Mourinho

As for the style of play he intends to impose, the message was direct and left no room for interpretation: he wants a team that defends with all eleven players, no exceptions, no privileges. "We need to not negotiate things that are non-negotiable. Commitment cannot be missing from a single match," he said, insisting that pressing and closing down space will be constant tools, whether the opponent is pushing forward on their own turf or Madrid has to "grind down" a rival on the road.

The coach also confirmed he already has his lineup set for this Saturday's match against Espanyol, his first official game on the Madrid bench in this new stint. That said, he had no plans to reveal it in the press room. "Mou's first lineup... let's see who has better contacts. The players already know, I'm not one to hide things," he joked, hinting that the lineup would leak out one way or another in the hours ahead.

To close things out, Mourinho allowed himself a moment of reflection on his own growth as a coach, comparing the manager he was in 2013 with the one he is today. "Today's Mourinho is in a position to give advice to the 2013 version. You have to always stay very calm. I'm better now than when I arrived and when I left," he concluded, in a tone whose calmness surprised those who remembered his first spell at the club.